Outdoor cooking enjoys great and growing popularity. Barbecues for such purposes have envolved from simple grill units to sophisticated installations, both fixed and mobile, that provide great range and variety in cooking. Modern barbecues have adjustable air intakes in the brazier, and are equipped with covers with are hinged to the brazier at the rear thereof. The covers are also equipped with variable vent openings for controlling air circulation at the grilling surface when the cover is closed on the brazier. Such a cover for barbecues has added particularly to their versatility.
In contemporary barbecues, the brazier may use burning charcoal as a heat source, or be gas or electrically fired and employ ceramic stones to serve as an additional radiant heat source. Sustained heat and a brazier cover permits a choice of cooking method and technique. With the cover fully opened, meats and other foods may be rapidly grilled with full air circulation and quickly attain the charred surface which is sought to enhance the taste of the food so prepared. Closing the cover over the brazier permits roasting and deeper heat penetration into the food being cooked because of containment of the brazier heat and reflective characteristics of the closed cover. It is often times desirable to grill larger and thicker pieces of meat, poultry, and other foods with the cover closed in order to assure that the interior of the food is fully cooked, but at the same time achieve the barbecued appearance and taste. Grilling with the brazier cover fully, closed, however, risks uncontrolled fires within the barbecue as a result of burning fat and/or overcooking of the food.
Outdoor cooking is both an art and science. To attain greater control of the preparation of particular foods and achieve the results demanded by experienced cooks, it is necessary to have the greater versatility afforded by being able to use a barbecue with the brazier cover in a partially opened condition. Such capability allows the cook to integrate the advantages of open grilling with added heat penetration and desired air circulation. An experienced cook may adjust these factors several times in the course of preparing a meal. In addition, a partially open cover permits viewing the food and basting without rapid fluctuation in the cooking conditions caused by fully opening and closing the cover on the brazier.
Despite the advances in outdoor barbecue designs, they typically do not provide a means for selectively securing the brazier cover in a partially open position to attain the necessary flexibility. To establish a partially open condition for the brazier cover, a cook may be forced to use such devices and objects as are readily available, none of which are completely satisfactory. A stone or a stick may be used to prop open the cover, as well as garden tools and various empty containers. Such makeshift devices seldom provide the spacing desired between the brazier and cover and are awkward in performing the function. Most ad hoc means for supporting the cover in a partially opened condition above the brazier provide insufficient security in attachment to the rim of the cover and brazier and therefore pose a hazard of inadvertent closure and injury. Additionally, such props become hot and therefore are dangerous and difficult to handle in adjusting the spacing between the brazier and cover.
It is desirable, therefore, to provide a device capable of supporting the cover of a barbecue brazier securely in a partially opened and selectable position. It is also desirable to have an easily controlled and safe method of handling the device when it becomes hot due to usage. It is further desirable that such a device be adaptable for use with most barbecue designs, be simple in design, easily manufactured, and inexpensive.
Applicant's invention meets these and other requirements.